Doon Online - About The Doon School

by Adreyo Sen
First published in the Doon School Weekly on May 25th, 2002

With 67 years of existence behind us, it is not surprising that many people regard Doon as yet another institution that symbolises India. Recently, Doon has got more than its fair share of media-coverage with Outlook magazine rating us the best residential school in the country. Not only this, the Wall Street Journal has published an article on us. Many people, however, associate the Doon School with Rajiv Gandhi and do not go further. They seem to feel that this, by itself, speaks volumes about the quality of the school. It is less commonly known that Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth, Kanti Bajpai and Karan Thapar studied here. Hadly anyone knows that reputed newscaster Prannoy Roy and editor of India Today, Aroon Purie are ex-Doscos. The self-effacing Bunker Roy, formerly a bureaucrat and now head of an influential NGO is also one of our more prominent ex-Doscos.

Indeed, while Doon has produced politicians like Rajiv Gandhi, Naveen Patnaik and Mani Shankar Aiyar, its old boys' have mostly distinguished themselves as journalists, bureaucrats, social workers and in the armed forces. Even as businessmen, Doscos can be recognised by their innovation and experimentation. What makes the Dosco what he is? What is the Dosco product? Is there a combination of qualities that can distinguish a Dosco from other people? Does the distinguished alumni of the school have common traits that go a long way in making them succeses in their chosen fields?
As a Dosco, one discovers a field of activity that soon becomes a passion, be it photography, motor-mechanics, creative-writing, philately or audio-visual work. The society we join goes a long way in developing our passion for a field of activity. We cherish some of these activities for the rest of our life and some of us, like Amitav Ghosh, might make them our profession.

Doon teaches us to be self-sufficient and independent. This is one of the few schools in the world where the student plays an important role in the daily administration of the estate. Boys control the audio-visual setup for movies and functions. Boys man the School Bank and run the school's many publications. Boys train together as a unit for the Inter-House One Act Play Competition, with little external guidance. Many school SUPWs are run almost independently by the boys, with teachers acting as guides and motivators, not instructors. Most SUPWs give us a picture of the real type of work involved in these activities and again, might push us towards a particular career. Boys are also encouraged to make their own decisions and juggle their priorities.

As a Dosco, one learns how to manage one's time. There is simply too much to do and so little time to do it in. Most of us try and involve ourselves in as many activities as we can, in order to grab the essence of what the school has to offer us. An average boy will be a member of two or three societies, an SUPW, an STA, two or three house teams, a publication and will involve himself in two exhibitions during the Founders' Day Programme. If he actually commits himself to his varied duties seriously and yet does well in his examinations, he will have to optimise the use of his time. Thus, without seeming to, school teaches us to manage our time properly, if only we care to learn. This will help us in our career later on.

It has been said that the best lessons are learnt on the games field and this is certainly true of Doon. One learnshow to be a valuable member of a team through games such as hockey and soccer. We learn how to contribute selflessly to the success of our team and how to take pride in being the member of a winning team. Later in his career, a good sportsman could well be a bright and valuable member of a company's team of executives, co-operative, cheerful and fun to work with. Other lessons learnt on the games field are endurance, the determination to succeed and stretch oneself to the limit and fair play. Boys also get a chance to umpire, or referee matches. The skills we gather as an umpire or a referee will keep us in good stead while working as administrators or heads of HRD departments.

Doon School instills in us an understanding of our environs and a sympathy for our fellow humans.

During midterms, we come in contact with nature and also stretch ourselves to the limit. Students of the school can take part in the school's various social service programmes or even interact with the poor and the needy through the Village Development Programme and the Child Education SUPW over a long period of time. We come to terms with the realities of India and understand, all too well, how we can help move our country forward. We become more sensitive and caring as human beings, able to gauge and respond to the problems of the people we come in contact with.

The ideal Dosco product, then, is caring and independent, passionate and firm, capable of managing his time properly and able to throw himself whole-heartedly into whatever he does. Such a person would be an asset to whatever line of activity he chooses to take up, be it business, administration, creative writing or politics. It is our duty, then, to imbibe the best of what Doon has to offer us and grow as true and dependable citizens of our country.